A celebrity is a famous person. The etymological origin of the word is "one who is celebrated." An alternative definition of a celebrity is a person who is famous for being famous (regardless of what first brought them to fame). What it takes to be a celebrity depends on the cultural context and the historical time. The advent of mass media increased the public interest in celebrities, and has even developed into a self-substantiating circuit (the 'cult of celebrity' i.e. being famous for being famous and not for having achieved anything else). Some ordinary people volunteer to become known on television (e.g. in reality television shows) for a taste of celebrity, though celebrity from a reality show is usually called "fleeting celebrity" or "15 minutes of fame" (a term coined by Andy Warhol).
